The Obama administration on Thursday said it would release 30 million barrels of oil from its strategic petroleum reserves to offset disruption caused by unrest in the Middle East --a move that caught some by surprise.

The release represents a pivot for an administration that has long resisted calls to unleash its storage of oil despite persistently high gas prices. The move will likely send ripples through the stock market and cause a political backlash in Washington . The administration has said the reserves should only be tapped during emergencies, not solely because Americans are feeling pain at the pump.

The unrest in Libya "is now three or four months old," said Guy Caruso, a former head of the U.S. Energy Information Administration. "The Saudis and others are putting more oil on the market and prices have been moderating. I'd be surprised if they sell a lot of the 30 million (barrels) that's offered. Most U.S. refiners appear to already have their supplies lined up for whatever they need for the summer."

The U.S. Department of Energy said it will release over the next 30 days 60 million barrels of oil. Half of that will come from the country's strategic petroleum reserves, which now hold 727 million barrels of oil, a historic high. The remainder will be released by partners in the International Energy Agency.

"We are taking this action in response to the ongoing loss of crude oil due to supply disruptions in Libya and other countries and their impact on the global economic recovery," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement.

It's unclear what conditions caused the administration to release the reserves now. The DOE said its decision is intended to complement production increases recently announced by other countries. "The United States welcomes those commitments and encourages other countries to follow suit," the DOE said in a statement.

Shortly after the outbreak of unrest in Libya in March that disrupted oil prices, President Barack Obama said "Right now, what we're seeing is not a shortage of supply." He said the problem is caused by a "great deal" of uncertainty in the oil markets.

The average price of regular gas in the U.S. is $3.61 a gallon. A month ago the average price per gallon was $3.82.

High gasoline prices often cause political posturing in Washington . Indeed, the House Energy and Commerce Committee is set to vote Thursday on measures to lower energy prices. Obama has used high gas prices to argue for ending tax subsidies for oil companies such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Chevron Corp. (CVX). He said oil firms have been earning large profits at the expense of Americans who are paying more at the pump.

The last time the U.S. released oil from the reserves in response to an economically-threatened disruption was following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
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